Results tagged ‘ Bert Blyleven ’

After 14 years on the ballot, former Pirates right-hander Bert Blyleven is now a Hall of Famer. Blyleven received 463 votes from 581 members of the Baseball Writers Association of America who had a ballot. That was equivalent to 79.7 percent, more than the 75 percent needed for induction.

Joining Blyleven as part of the 2011 Hall of Fame class is second baseman Roberto Alomar, whose name appeared on 90 percent of the ballots.

Blyleven’s Cooperstown plaque will show the 22-year Major Leaguer in a Twins cap, but Blyleven did spend three of his seasons wearing black and gold. Blyleven was traded by the Rangers to Pittsburgh in December 1977 as part of a four-team deal that also involved the Braves and Mets.

From 1978-80, Blyleven made 105 appearances (103 starts) for the Pirates. He finished 34-28 with a 3.47 ERA and averaged 233 innings over the span.

While Blyleven finally received the call, Dave Parker once again did not. The former outfielder received 15.3 percent of the vote, his highest total since 2001. He never appeared on more than 24.5 percent of the ballots. Parker reached that threshold back in 1998.

This marked the 15th time Parker has been on the ballot, and he has now exhausted his eligibility. The former NL MVP and two-time batting champ was a part of three World Series teams in his 19-year career. One of those came with Pittsburgh in 1979. Parker batted .345 in that Fall Classic.

Former Pirates pitcher Bert Blyleven has fallen five votes short of earning a spot in Cooperstown, NY. In his 13th year on the ballot, Blyleven picked up 400 votes, a total good for 74.2 percent. Players need to reach the 75-percent threshold to be elected.

“Five votes short is kind of a little on the sad side, but my percentages jumped up a lot from last year and I really appreciate that,” Blyleven told MLB Network shortly after the Hall of Fame’s official announcement. “Through all this you realize there is a lot of family and friends out there that are behind you — all the ballclubs I played for. Only being five votes short, I almost laugh at it. Hopefully next year will be my time to enjoy as this is Andre Dawson’s time.”

Dawson was the only player elected to the 2010 Hall class as he received 77.9 percent of the votes.

The good news for Blyleven is that his percentage did jump significantly from last year to this. He received 62.7 percent of the vote in 2009. As a result, most anticipate that Blyleven will finally get his call to Cooperstown in 2011.

Former Pirates slugger Dave Parker received just 15.2 percent of the vote. He received 15 percent last year. Parker has just one more year of eligibility left on the Baseball Writers’ Association of America ballot.

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